Max’s Bakery & Delicatessen

I am new in the area and since max is one of the only places around to get a quick meal or sandwich I had tried it a few times. I find the food average and too expensive. spending $ 10 for a chicken fiesta sandwhich seems to much specially when the quality is average.

Please stop referring to this place as a deli. Max’s is NOT a deli. It’s closer to a 7 – 11 only the food at 7 – 11 is better. Wow. What a disappointment. Had a roasted turkey and cheese sandwich and 3 veggie spring rolls. The spring rolls were inedible. The way they were re-​heated left them soggy, limp and chewy. The sandwich was so bland it belongs in the palliative care unit of a hospital. The ownership should pay as much attention to the food as they do to the décor. Will never eat here again. If I could, I would give negative stars.

It is a good deli for lunch, but not as Jewish of a deli as we had hoped. More Christmas stuff then Jewish stuff.

I have no idea why this place stays in business. The ‘take a number’ service system makes me feel like I am in cold war Moscow. Somnambulent staff and very average food (I am being generous) make me wish I had enough energy to walk over to Cambie.!!

I am a huge fan of this chain. Very affordable cookies and buns. I bought as assortment of cookies for a party. I was too sick to bake and these guys nailed me out of a pastry situation. Friendly customer service.

A hit and miss. Atmosphere is nice and comfortable. The desserts are nice and varied but the breakfast menu is overpriced.

I give it 4 stars only for the desserts… Had the caramel apple cheesecake which was amazing and their chocolate truffle cake which was probably the best chocolate cake I’ve ever had! But… The other side which consisted of all the savory foods and baked goods that were out in the open, not very sanitary judging by the flies and such on the food, wouldn’t suggest anything else besides the dessert!

Breakfast wrap $ 6.81did not wow me. Inside a soft tortilla wrap is a lot of scramble eggs, a little bit of sausage and cheese and ketchup: o (. Ugh I would replace the ketchup with salsa to give it a bit of flavour which it is lacking in.
Ps they included a giant piece of dill pickle ?
Odd addition fur a morning breakfast item.

Generous portions but the food quality was average.

A really great deli. They have a fantastic selection of foods here, an overwhelming selection as a matter of fact. I went with the Clubhouse without realizing that it doesnt come with bacon. It was a great ham and turkey sandwich but it was missing the bacon so I wouldnt call it a clubhouse. The price is not bad for what you get. The sandwich was totally loaded and the ingredients were good quality. I will certainly come back when I am in the neighbourhood and looking for a proper sandwich.

I have been to this bakery many times mainly because of the taste of the food. A huge setback to this bakery is the prices. It is extremely expensive, which is a shame because if the process were more reasonable, then the shop would be even more successful than they are now. Other than the prices, the food is pretty good, especially the sweet ones.

This place has been a favorite for years but after giving it a 2^nd chance after a bout of food poisoning, we’re never coming back.
The food is complete crap now and the service is hostile. A customer in front of me had her order thrown at her by one worker and the one that served us butchered our sandwiches and stared daggers at us.
They’ve also drastically changed the way they make desserts and they’re no long appealing.
Screw this place.

The food and service here are mediocre to be generous. It happens to have very little competition within short walking distance, which is why I reluctantly continue to go occasionally as I live and work nearby. I pray that one day there’s a change of ownership/​management and a better operation takes over this spot.
I suppose everybody is entitled to their opinion, but I really have a hard time understanding how other reviewers have given 4 or even 5 stars. Have you been anywhere else ever?
The one good thing about this place is the vast selection. There are tons of prepared food items behind the glass deli counter, all kinds of pastries and desserts, and a beverage fridge that rivals a small supermarket. But… nearly all hot served items (perhaps except soups) have to be reheated by microwave. As for cold served items, they get made in large quantities and end up sitting there until its sold or looks visibly stale. Vast selection aside, the calibre of the food offering is basically what one would get at Safeway’s deli.
The operation itself is poorly conceived. You are suppose to take a number from the ticket dispenser, wait your turn to tell a staff what you want, then wait around while that same staff preps the order (for items that need prep work), then the same staff waves you over to the cashier to process payment, then you get to grab a seat or leave with take out as the case may be. Why not have a proper line up, take customers order and payment right away, then let them sit down and wait?
Max’s deli has so much potential. There appears to be a full working kitchen so there could be fresh items made to order, plenty of staff which if operation was set up better wait time could be reduced, and a decent neighbourhood where customers can afford and should demand better quality items.
One day…

Great dessert place, a much improved version over Bread Garden 10x over.
Lots of selection, good pies but not a fan of their cinnamon buns.
Surprising that parking isn’t as tough as it looks.
There was a contest for pair of Canucks tickets last month.
Clean washroom on left.
friendly service.

I sometimes pop in for a coffee and a muffin on my way to work. The food is good but the service is consistently terrible. I never feel welcome there and there is rarely a personal touch to anything they do. It’s unfortunate because there is so much effort put into the food.

I thought it was time that I wrote a review of Max’s as I went there almost every day for a year! I used to grab my morning coffee before work and in my opinion, they do the best Americano in the area. A lovely bonus was that the staff took time to learn my name and order so I would just have to make eye contact and they’d begin to prepare my coffee for me. It’s a busy place, so this really impressed me and I always enjoyed the conversations I had with the staff.
On the weekend, I would often come here for lunch and, being a Coeliac sufferer and therefore allergic to gluten, would always ask about what I could and couldn’t have. Everyone I spoke to was well-​informed and extremely helpful, and I always found something delicious and gluten free to eat! The atmosphere is slightly retro, and I always found it relaxing to sit and do some work on my laptop here (the free wi-​fi was very fast), watching the world pass by.
For those reviewers saying it takes too long: this is a deli and not simply a coffee shop, and it takes time to prepare the orders. For example, the sandwiches are made fresh and not simply wrapped up ready to go, so naturally it will take a little longer than a café would take to complete an order.
The only improvement I could suggest would be to make it clearer to unfamiliar customers that they should take a ticket upon entering — very often the queues were mixed with people who had /​hadn’t taken a number, leading to some confusion.
Overall, I loved Max’s and now that I’m back home in the UK, I miss my morning Americano and chat very much. I highly recommend this deli!

I live really close to this deli and its nice having a convenient place to grab a quick sandwich… Quick being if you have 20 mins of at least just waiting.
The food is always good but the wait! My god, the wait! Even when I am literally the only person waiting for anything, it’s like watching molasses drip. Slow and painful.
I wish I could say this is my go to place since it’s so convenient, but for faster (and cheaper) food I could take the extra 10 min to walk somewhere else and almost be guaranteed prompt service.

Amazing bagels but the rest of the menu items are extremely hit or miss. I’d recommend skipping any of the breakfast sandwiches. Tnoodle salad and daily soups are usuallyreliability good.
The service staff need training and/​or to be replaced. I have waited 15+ minutes on a weekday for them to toast a bagel. I was there grabbing bagels yesterday and waited about 5 min to be acknowledged and another 10 for them to toast them (they forgot my pickles yet again). Only one staff member seemed to be using the number system.
Overall it’s worth a visit if you have time to burn but there are several other neighbourhood options if you are in a hurry.

Had the tiramisu. This thing is pretty beautiful. Yes they cheat a bit with the clear plastic wrap (hence the perfect looking cylinders), but the bits of cream up top and cocoa powder make for a deadly combo. Definitely recommended. Also tried some of their black forest cake. Very good.

It’s a casual deli/​bakery with a variety of pre-​made entrees and baked goods.
The large food display counters for casserole-​type dishes and pastries. They also have coffee and beverages.
We found some holiday season desserts and wanna tried it all but it looked like too sugary and buttery.
We only bought 4 pcs of cakes and gone.
Egg Nog cheesecake — Barely could taste egg nog flavour
Apple caramel cheesecake — Full flavour of cheesecake but towards to sweet side.
Truffle cheesecake — Rich flavour of chocolate and cheesecake
Chocolate mousse cake — Smooth mousse but too sweet.
Average for each dessert only $ 5, it’s so reasonable.